Does he have a chance?

SACRAMENTO -- Bakersfield's Republican state senator, Roy Ashburn, has begun raising money for a possible race for a powerful state tax board in 2010, when he will be facing unemployment under the current term limits law.

But he said his decision to run for a seat on the Board of Equalization may be affected by pending proposals to change legislative term limits, one of which was written by Ashburn himself. If one of the changes gets on the ballot and is approved by voters, Ashburn would have the option of running for a third four-year term in the Senate.

Ashburn has made no formal announcement about the tax board race. His plans came to light when a Sacramento political newsletter reported he had a fundraising event scheduled Wednesday evening for a committee formed for the board campaign.

Asked to explain, Ashburn said under the current law, he cannot continue to raise money for a Senate campaign after he is elected to his final term. That's why many termed-out legislators have formed committees to run for statewide offices or, like Ashburn, for the Board of Equalization.

They may or may not end up running for those offices, but Ashburn said he was definitely interested in the five-member board. It is made up of the state controller and four members elected from districts that each represent 25 percent of the state's population.

"I think it's an exciting position in state government," Ashburn said. "This is California's tax board. It exists for taxpayer fairness, and the tax disputes that come before the board have a huge impact on the taxpayers of our state."

Ashburn is a former Kern County supervisor and Assemblyman who was first elected to the Senate in 2002 and re-elected last year.

He would be a candidate for the 2nd District Board of Equalization seat now held by Republican Bill Leonard from Redlands. The sprawling 32-county district covers most of the heavily Republican inland area of the state. It includes Kern County and all of Ashburn's huge 18th Senate District, which runs from Bakersfield east to the Nevada border.

A number of other state senators have been mentioned for the seat. The best known is Tom McClintock, the ultra-conservative Republican from Thousand Oaks who came in third in the recall election race for governor won by Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003. He has also run for state controller and lieutenant governor.

Leonard and Ashburn are close friends. Leonard hired Ashburn's former wife, Diane, for his staff in 2003, several months before the senator filed for divorce. Diane Ashburn no longer works for the board, Leonard said.

About Roy Ashburn, Leonard said, "He's a friend and I think he'd make a great Board of Equalization member. I also think it will be a very competitive Republican primary for this seat in 2010."

The state Board of Equalization administers and collects more than 30 taxes, including the sales tax, tobacco tax, fuel taxes and timber yield taxes. It does not administer the personal income tax. That is collected by the Franchise Tax Board. The Board of Equalization is the appeals body for taxpayers who disagree with their bills for the taxes it administers, as well as personal income tax disputes.

--Vic Pollard